Sticks And Stones
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Jacob befriends the new girl at school because he knows what it feels like to be different.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

* * *

Word Count: 1173

Title: Sticks And Stones May Break Your Bones But Words Will Leave You With Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Note:

Warnings: Bullying

Beta: Aya, whitetiger91

* * *

Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Ollivanders: Snallygaster heartstring: Write a story set before the Marauders Era.

* * *

Hogwarts:

Yearly:

Prompt [Character] Jacob Kowalski

* * *

The House Cup:

[House] Gryffindor

[Subject] Charms

[Category] Standard

[Prompt] [Character] Jacob Kowalski

* * *

Jacob Kowalski was a chubby young boy, and was always kind to everyone around him. He didn't look the part, but he always stood up for what he believed in. During recess, he spotted the new arrival being tormented by some of the older children.

"I really, really want to poke you in the eye," the new girl said to her bullies, but she seemed rattled by the situation.

Jacob thought to himself how it would be better to stay out of it, let them target someone else for a change. But a little voice inside him said that nobody deserved to be teased and tormented. No matter how scared he was of them, he needed to speak up.

"Hey, leave her alone," Jacob shouted, his voice getting lost amongst the bullies' laughter. They continued to harass the girl until he came closer. "I said leave her alone!" Jacob yelled.

The girl looked scared, and her eyes darted towards him. She had grey eyes and pale skin, and her hair was long and platinum blonde.

"Oh, and what you going to do, Fatty?" the leader said, causing the rest of the group to laugh. It wasn't an uncommon nickname for Jacob, although it hurt hearing the word again.

He managed to distract them, and the new girl disappeared in the ruckus. "Where did she go?" the leader asked, turning to his friends.

"She just disappeared," another one said.

"Maybe she is a witch," another joked.

They had gotten so caught up in the girl slipping away, they forgot all about their regular object of ridicule; Jacob managed to get away without being roughed up and tossed into the big dumpster behind the school.

He walked away slowly, as if not wanting to turn his back on them, and saw an eagle perched in a nearby tree. It was curious, but nobody else seemed to notice it. He felt he must be imagining things; eagles didn't visit the area, and even if they did, the platinum coloring was definitely unnatural.

When he looked up again, he saw nothing, so he believed it must have been only his imagination playing tricks on him.

He walked into class, taking a seat at the back as usual. He liked to sit at the back in case he got bored. He wasn't extremely intelligent, and had no interest in many of the school subjects like maths. He lived with his grandmother, who owned a bakery, and already knew where he wanted to be when he grew up.

He watched the new girl curiously; something about her seemed different. She didn't fit here, but he didn't think she would appreciate being told that; then again he felt like he didn't belong here, either. She was sitting two rows ahead of him. She looked up from her books and glanced back at him, giving him a timid smile.

He smiled back at her before she turned to face the chalkboard again. He didn't want her getting into trouble, so he looked down at his book, doodling on a piece of paper.

He drew the eagle, the one he must have imagined, with pencil lines. It started with the outline, and when the bell rang, he had completed the sketch.

"That's beautiful," a soft voice said next to him.

How the new girl had gotten so close to him without him hearing her was a mystery. He was usually a bit more observant. He didn't want teachers catching him not paying attention.

"Thank you," Jacob replied.

"I'm Jane," she said. "You're Jacob, aren't you?"

He nodded wordlessly. It wasn't often anyone knew his name.

"Thank you for standing up for me," Jane said. "I got really scared out there."

"That's normal; we all get scared sometimes," Jacob said, trying to make her feel better.

"Not the way I was. I didn't feel scared for me; when I get mad I do things… bad things," she admitted.

"Why are you confessing this to me?" he asked.

"You seem dependable, and I need to tell someone that won't judge me," she said slowly. Her words were carefully thought out, and Jacob noticed she was trying to watch her words.

"You can't be happy without accepting yourself," Jacob said wisely.

Her eyes lit up with a curious light.

"Never lose who you are, Jacob," she said suddenly. He realised the bell rang again, and he shoved his things into his black bag. "You forgot this," she said, handing him the drawing; it sent a jolt of electricity through him.

"You have it," he replied with a smile.

"Thank you," she said.

He left the classroom. They didn't have any more lessons together and for the rest of the day, he felt himself wondering how Jane's first day had gone.

He saw the platinum blonde head after school; she stood out among her peers.

"Jane, wait up!" he yelled. She heard him and stopped, waiting for him to catch up to her. He smiled a genuine smile at her. "I don't believe you can hurt anyone," he said sweetly when he reached her.

She shook her head.

"Want me to carry your bag?" he asked, holding out his hand to take it from her. She smiled and gave it over to him, and he felt another jolt run through his hand.

"This static today," he said as if it was quite normal that the new girl kept shocking him.

They walked down the road, chatting away about school.

"Jacob, can I tell you a secret?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course," the boy replied.

"Maybe not today," she said as they reached Jacob's house.

His grandmother had opened the door and was watching them. He hugged Jane goodbye, and he didn't feel the static again, although it was still present.

"Okay, see you soon, friend," he said and went off down the yard to his grandmother.

He chatted to her about his new friend Jane as they headed inside. When he glanced out the window, he saw Jane was already gone. All he spotted was platinum wings as an eagle flew off into the distance.

"Strange," he said; then continued talking his grandmother's ear off about the new girl.

His Nanna was happy to hear he'd finally made a friend at school, although she also thought there was something curious about the girl when she'd spotted her outside the house.

"Nanna," he said, trying to get her attention again, "I think Jane is so pretty."

"She is very pretty, dear, just be careful," his Nanna said.

"Careful? Why should I be careful?" Jacob asked. He felt butterflies in his tummy when he talked to Jane. He really liked her a lot.

"Pretty girls don't end up with boys like you," his Nanna said, admitting the hard truth.

They weren't wealthy enough for him to get a girl like that.

"Oh," Jacob said, taking a biscuit from the tin.

He didn't think his new friend would ever hurt him; his Nanna was just being protective of him.


End file.
